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Jan 29, 2015

Organizing My Life

Hi! 

Just checking in to say hello and to bring you up to date on what I've been doing. To be honest,  I have just had the craziest, horrible week and a half ever. I am in the middle of kitchen renos, as I mentioned in one of my last posts. The walls are all painted, thanks to some help from my friend Linda at Novice Beginnings, and there's a new door for my pantry waiting to go in after this weekend when my son Mike comes over. We're also switching over all my plugs and switches to white ones.

Soon I will start on my cupboards, which are getting new hinges and a fresh coat of paint. In 2 to 3 weeks we will have the new counter installed. Yay!

While I was at it, I decided that my kitchen could really benefit from some organization. I bought 3 boxes of large Tupperware storage containers for the pantry, and 4 other larger containers. At $20 per 4 containers, it was a considerable investment, and I may get more. I think it's a wonderful solution. They look something like this, only with just the red lids. Nice and clean and organized!


Almost all my regular spaces have been moved around so that the kitchen is much more functional for us now. It was quite the dance in progress. 

I moved my food cupboards and my dish cupboards around. My cups and glasses went into my 'extra stuff' cupboard (I have a huge box full of stuff I no longer need or have room for. It's going to the Sally Ann, and the rest I'm selling on either Kijiji or an online garage sale for our area). 

The plastics cupboard was purged and anything kept was arranged into containers. I was so thankful my daughter in law helped -- she is quick and brutal, but she got it doneI have even created a small coffee nook that is close to the cups and glasses. The David's Tea is in a container in the cupboard above the space with anything coffee or tea related. 

It feels good!

However, all of that wasn't what made my week crazy.  It was the 3 trips to emergency in between involving my already sick husband as he was passing a kidney stone. In the end they operated, but that turned into a nightmare for him. I'll spare you the details. My husband is usually dealing with chronic pain because of other health issues. We don't have a family doctor anymore, so it's truly complicated on every single level. 

Frustrating!!!

It's so hard watching people you love in serious, debilitating pain while being helpless to do anything for them. Really, really hard! However, he is doing a lot better now and we are hoping and praying he will not have to go through anything like that again. It's bad enough for him normally.

Anyway, I'd love to show you pictures, but ------ it's not ready. 

Patience, my loves! :)

On another front, I have been cleaning out my craft room. When it comes to crafts, I am a jack of all trades, and if I could I would do it all. 

However, I am quickly realizing I have to give up a few things. So, I am selling all my soap supplies to an interested buyer.  I have also sold some of my candle supplies. I am hoping this will give me some focus. By that I mean Digitals, PDF's, cardmaking, sewing and crochet. That should keep me busy enough, don't you agree? 

Well, it's getting late now and I need to relax for a bit.

Thanks so much for stopping by! 

Can you believe it's almost February?? 

Blessings,
Carmen

8 comments:

  1. hi carmen,
    hope your husband will be feeling even better soon. sorry to hear it was such a hard time for him - and you!
    hey, busy little bumble bee, getting organized. I really should do something about the mess in my craftroom, too. big sigh. but I'm not brave enough to give some stuff away, the typical "what if I still need it..." thought....
    big hugs to you!
    mickymunchkin

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    1. Hahaha...I SO relate! It's been hard getting rid of stuff. I've even kept back some of my more pricey oils because I can still make body butters, etc. I sure hope I do because they're lovely, but I know it's more about thinking I may still need it and not wanting to "give" away my expensive stuff. One day, maybe ;)

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  2. Wow! Quite a week and a half! My husband had a kidney stone last year about this time--not fun! I wish your husband well with that and all the other health issues.

    Lots of new things going on at your end. Can't wait to see the pictures! Have a great day.

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    1. Thanks, Teresa! I've been making pouches in between, and hope to post those soon. Just cleaned up my craft room a bit and am waiting for people to come and get things. :)

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  3. Oh wow! Sounds like you've had a hectic week! Hope you hubby is feeling lots better!!! My uncle just passed a stone. They told him to drink lemonade, as it helps disolve them before they get hard. Sounds like you are getting really organized and concentrating on your hobbies you enjoy the best! Great idea! I suffer with chronic illness and have been trying to simplify the house to make it easier to clean. Not an easy task!!! So that is great what you are doing! Hope you are enjoying your awesome progress! :)

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    1. Mine drank lemon water to help dissolve it too. I'm glad it's all done now! Hopefully he won't have to deal with any more stuff. As for simplifying, it sure does help when things are better organized, but it's a bit of work to get there! I hope it works out well for you!!

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  4. Hi Carmen,

    My husband suffers from chronic pain, too, so I totally understand your frustration and feeling of helplessness. Prayers for his recovery from surgery and for you, too. Although you'd never know it by looking at my house, I like organization. I've been working on sorting through an accumulation of several decades and it's slow going. But it should make cleaning easier. Less to dust when company is coming... Your renos and reorganization look great!

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  5. Oh Carol, I'm so sorry to hear about your husband! I hope you are taking care of yourself too! I know how difficult it can be...just the concern for him alone is wearing, never mind all the other stuff. Thanks...the renos are going slowly right now, I hope to post a picture within a month or so of the completed kitchen. The colors are quite different. Prayers for you and yours too!

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Thanks for the comments!